League of European Research Universities


The League of European Research Universities is a consortium of leading European research universities, headquartered in Leuven, Belgium.

History and overview

The League of European Research Universities is an association of research-intensive universities. Founded in 2002 as a partnership among twelve multi-faculty research universities, in 2024 its membership expanded to twenty-four. As the latest addition, ETH Zurich joined the alliance on 1 January 2024. The purpose of the League is to influence policy in Europe and to develop best practice through mutual exchange of experience. LERU regularly publishes a variety of papers and reports which make high-level policy statements, provide analyses and make recommendations for policymakers, universities, researchers and other stakeholders.
LERU is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium. Kurt Deketelaere is the current Secretary-General. Linda Doyle is the current chair.

Membership

The Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, one of the 12 founding member of the LERU, voluntarily left the group in March 2011. The 24 member universities as of 2024 are:
CountryUniversities
KU Leuven
University of Copenhagen
University of Helsinki
Sorbonne University
Paris-Saclay University
University of Strasbourg
University of Freiburg
Heidelberg University
University of Munich
Trinity College Dublin
University of Milan
University of Amsterdam
Leiden University
Utrecht University
University of Barcelona
Lund University
University of Geneva
ETH Zurich
University of Zurich
Imperial College London
University College London
University of Cambridge
University of Edinburgh
University of Oxford